For the first time divers-investigators M.B. Propp, A.F. Pushkin and E.N. Gruzov dived in Antarctica in 1965. In 2 years S.N. Rybakov joined to them. Later he wrote a book "Under the water in Antarctica" where those expeditions were described. We reread that book many times. Then it wasn't possible to imagine just in the bravest dreams that after a time we ourselves would be under the water in Antarctica.
We have been preparing for our expedition during 3 years. And at last it began with a long travel to the 6th continent. Once in Russia, according to Gogol, there were places difficult to get to for 3 years. Nowadays, times have changed: it's theoretically possible to get to any place on the Earth during 24 hours. But it took us 6 days to be in Antarctica. Firstly, we went by plane from Moscow to Milan, from there to Buenos Aires and later again by plane to Ushuaya - an administration centre of the province "Fire Land", it's the southest city on the globe. And then it took us 3 nights and 2 days to get by the sea to the Antarctic Island.

Ushuaya deserves some words. It is some kind of Kolyma in the southern hemisphere. In the past there was a famous Patagonian penal servitude there, where prisoners from all over the South America were sent. The developing of those places began in 1896, when a vessel with a bright name "The First of May" dropped in at Bigl Strait. "The First of May" landed a first lot of settlers - 14 State convicts there. Their main task was to build a house and guard a prison. Ushuaya became a topographical centre of the settle; today it is a city with population of 50 thousand. We had to stay at "Fire Land" about 24 hours and we had time to visit a national park Terra del Fuego (in Spanish - "fire land"). It was very beautiful: some fabulous forests surrounded with snow mountains, lichens and windfalls… There were a lot of unscared animals there: rabbits, foxes and beavers.



By 4 o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at an Ushuayan seaport, upon the berthing of a motor ship "Grigoriy Mikheev". All the team, consisted of 18 people at the head of captain Vitaliy Gavrilovich Zlobin - Arkhangelsk born, met us. Many years he sailed through the north seas - perhaps only with his experience one can feel himself in the Antarctic Ice as at home. The team was glad to meet us; we were the first tourist Russian group in Antarctica.

At 18.00 of local time "Mikheev" left a wharf and headed exactly for the South. To get from "Fire Land" to Antarctica it's necessary to cross Drake Gulf - it is one of the most dangerous places on the planet from navigation's point of view. There are uncertain, changeable weather and often storms, which begin suddenly. It's just calm and all of a sudden a huge curved wave grows like a shot. Of course, rolling much frightened us, but God was merciful.

In 2 days and nights we reached the South Shetland Islands. It is not Antarctica yet - it's just an outpost. We were told that there would be many penguins especially penguins Adelly on those beautiful rocky igneous islands. But we didn't correctly appreciate the meaning of the word "many". As lately Antarctica became a place of tourists' pilgrimage there was established a rule there: not to come to animals closer than 5 meters. If a penguin comes to you that's all right, if only you don't. But on the South Shetland Islands this rule can unlikely be met. It's difficult to choose such a motion path along the shore to keep a regulation distance. The only way out is to walk like a penguin, loudly flapping the wings: after that a flock steps aside and moves away at a respectful distance.



And there is one more rule for tourists there: it's forbidden to take anything from Antarctica's shores, even a stone as a souvenir one can't carry away. This is because of stones are building materials for penguins' nests. And there are much more tourists than penguins on the planet and if every person takes away only one stone…



Penguins are of rare friendly, interesting and sociable. If you sit calmly on the shore occupied by their colony (and almost all shores of the South Shetland Islands are occupied by penguins), in some time a penguin comes to you and begins flirting, showing special interest in shining things. Penguins use the most different methods to draw attention to them. When we snorkeled, every flock of penguins, crossing by, wasn't lazy deflecting from its course to look at us and prove themselves. And once, when we were sunbathing on icebergs, 2 penguins simultaneously breached like candles near us. These birds come to divers more seldom - they beware of breathed bubbles.

There are sea-elephant rookeries on the shores in the neighborhood with penguins. They are large animals, about 4 miters long, impressive, not very friendly, but rather loyal. And if you come close they roar lazily - but it's just a territorial signal, not a signal of protest or threat. They don't show aggression. Just once a large bull marched up straight to us. We, of course, stepped aside. And he advanced a little, lifted his fore-body part vertically, consequently his head became even with ours, spoke something threateningly and right there lied down and felt asleep. We don't know even today what he wanted to inform us. Perhaps, that bull tried to barred our way to his harem. As a matter of fact, sea-elephants are polygamous - every husband has a harem of several wives.

We met fur seals on the same island. And they were rather aggressive, but they didn't take up the hostile attempts. They are very active on land unlike to penguins and sea-elephants. Bulls on a rookery constantly sort out their relationships - but not till it bleeds. And alike they rush to people but nobody has been bitten yet. And sea-elephants are aggressive only on land, because they guard their territory. But in water they are friendly and inoffensive.



From the South Shetland Islands we moved to Antarctica Peninsula. Again we were lucky with the weather: the clean sky, the bright sun and the rather calm sea - it was a really Indian summer in Antarctica. In fact, the beginning of March in the southern hemisphere is like the beginning of September at us. And the peninsula, arising out of the water, was covered with ice completely - the closer to it the more ice there. The view was fantastic: a white-shining rocky shore, blazing at the sun, covered like in a hurry with ice lumps in several tens of meters thick. Ship-sized ice pieces were slipping into the seawater periodically, where there was already enough ice. Sometimes we moved with turtle's speed, making not more than 1 knot. "Grigoriy Mikheev", although it was not an ice-breaker, managed with thin ice but its speed slowed down greatly.



On shores of Antarctica Peninsula there are also many penguins, but on the whole a population is already different. There aren't sea-bears there, there are Ueddella and crab-eaters seals; sea leopards can be met seldom. There are a lot of whales - humpback and striped whales. It's interesting to look at them when they swim in small shoals. Once a small shoal of humpback whales - a cow with 3 admirers approached to us. They began to reel under our "Zodiac", turning bellies up and swimming under the most boat, almost touching it. Everybody, who was in a dry suit at that moment, jumped rapidly into the water and snorkeled in the whales' company about a half of an hour. It's impossible to forget… And some were lucky to snorkel with a sea leopard. Sea leopards are danger for penguins. Sometimes whales, especially humpback whales, jump out of the water completely and fall back flat - in that way they get rid of vermin. It's necessary to make rather many jumps, so a show proves to be long but very effective, especially when a whole shoal of whales begins to jump out of the water one by one many times…



The participants of that expedition express their thanks to the team of "Grigoriy Mikheev" for help and hospitality.

To be continued.

By Mikhail Safonov

Underwater Club of Moscow State University

Underwater Club